The <base> tag sets the base URL and target for all relative URLs in a webpage, placed within the
section. 2. It affects how relative links, images, scripts, and other resources are resolved by changing the default base URL. 3. The href attribute defines the base URL, while the target attribute sets the default link behavior, such as opening in a new tab. 4. Only one <base> tag is allowed per document, and it applies to all relative URLs but does not affect absolute URLs. 5. It is useful for sites in subdirectories, single-page applications, or when enforcing consistent link targets, but requires care to avoid unintended URL resolutions.The <base>
tag in HTML is a small but powerful element that sets the base URL and/or base target for all relative URLs in a webpage.

It goes inside the section of your HTML document and affects how links, images, scripts, forms, and other resources with relative paths are resolved.
Why the <base>
tag matters
Imagine you have a website where most links or resources are relative (like images/logo.png
or about.html
). By default, the browser looks for these relative to the current page’s URL. But if you use the <base>
tag, you can change that default behavior.

For example:
<head> <base href="https://example.com/assets/"> </head> <body> <img src="/static/imghw/default1.png" data-src="logo.png" class="lazy" alt="What is the tag in HTML?" > <!-- Loads from https://example.com/assets/logo.png --> <a href="page.html">Go to page</a> <!-- Links to https://example.com/assets/page.html --> </body>
Even though src
and href
are relative, they now resolve using the base URL you defined.

Key attributes
The <base>
tag supports two attributes:
href
– Sets the base URL for all relative URLs in the document.target
– Sets the defaulttarget
for all links (e.g.,_blank
,_self
).
You can use one or both:
<base href="https://example.com/" target="_blank">
Now all links without their own target
will open in a new tab.
Important notes
- There can be only one
<base>
tag in a document. - It affects all relative URLs — links, images, scripts, CSS, forms, etc.
- Absolute URLs (like
https://example.com/contact
) are not affected. - If you set a base URL, even internal page anchors (
#top
) might be affected unless handled carefully.
Common use case
This tag is useful when:
- Your site is hosted in a subdirectory but you want clean relative paths.
- You're building a single-page app or documentation site with a consistent resource structure.
- You want all external links to open in a new window by default (using
target="_blank"
).
Just be cautious — once you set a base, every relative link follows it. So a link like about.html
won’t go to the site root unless you explicitly write /about.html
.
Basically, <base>
quietly changes the rules for how your page resolves links — simple, but easy to overlook.
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